Almost all cell phones are charged with a simple USB charger but we are constantly told that LiPo cells must never be trickle charged.
What am I missing?

 

The usb provides 5V, the charging circuitry is inside the phone and what it actually does when the battery is fully charged is anybody´s guess.

 

The usb provides 5V, the charging circuitry is inside the phone and what it actually does when the battery is fully charged is anybody´s guess.

And if you really care, there are apps that can show you the details of charging/discharging current.

 

And if you really care, there are apps that can show you the details of charging/discharging current.

Thank you both--actually, I hadn't thought of that, assuming all circuitry would be in the charger.

 

You can hook up most phones to any 5v supply for charging.
The charging circuit in the phone stops charging when full and continues charging when the battery voltage drops to a set level.

 

You can hook up most phones to any 5v supply for charging.
The charging circuit in the phone stops charging when full and continues charging when the battery voltage drops to a set level.

Come on, folks, the question has been answered. Save the bandwidth. Help someone whose question has not been answered. Whidehaird novice.

 

Another member mentioned this in his post. Get one of these and you can see what's happening. A lot of insight for US$2



https://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Charge...hash=item3af108b524:m:mZTBUbNazZ7o-HtIpbzZbWQ

 

Another member mentioned this in his post. Get one of these and you can see what's happening. A lot of insight for US$2

View attachment 151441

https://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Charge...hash=item3af108b524:m:mZTBUbNazZ7o-HtIpbzZbWQ

I bought something similar; very disappointed. Doesn't measure current very accurately.

 

We cannot expect laboratory quality at this price, but it sure beats hacking up a USB extender cable to pick off the current and voltage.

The one I have gives believable readings, but now that you mention it I probably should check out the accuracy so I better understand the readings.

 

I bought something similar; very disappointed. Doesn't measure current very accurately.

I have a couple of these things and checked both the voltage and current against a calibrated multimeter. The voltage and currents agreed to within 0.1V/0.1A – very impressive for the price and accurate enough for most purposes.

 

Come on, folks, the question has been answered. Save the bandwidth. Help someone whose question has not been answered. Whidehaird novice.

Erm..... How rude?

Another member mentioned this in his post. Get one of these and you can see what's happening. A lot of insight for US$2

View attachment 151441

https://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Charge...hash=item3af108b524:m:mZTBUbNazZ7o-HtIpbzZbWQ

A brief warning to the wise on those things (of any type), they generally have poor quality USB connections, which adds resistance to the line, only a few ohms but smart phones/tablets etc will see a voltage drop and reduce the charging current automatically to stop them damaging what they think is a less than suitable charger. it varies between devices, but something like my Nexus 7, if it detects less than 4.8v, it'll drop the charging current to < 200mA.